Asociación LPH in Costa Rica facilitates access to comprehensive cleft care, especially for marginalized families who live far from the capital, San Jose.
Pandemic restrictions have temporarily stopped LPH from hosting families from far afield in their cozy residence, and the National Children’s Hospital put most cleft procedures on hold.
Through virtual speech therapy and counselling sessions, approximately 40 cleft-affected families are accessing support through Facebook, Skype and WhatsApp. It has been a huge relief for staff and cleft-affected families alike to maintain contact throughout the challenges of Covid-19.
Carolina Rivera Gutierrez, Asociación LPH’s Speech Therapist, also reports that “[t]hese new digital channels have allowed us to be in direct contact with public schools, and to plan new ways of educating the community about cleft lip and palate”.